Bowing & Buckling Foundation Wall Repair in Central New York

The Geo-Lock™ Foundation Wall Anchor System

What It Does:

The Supportworks Geo-Lock™ Wall Anchor System permanently stabilizes your basement walls, offering the best opportunity to straighten the walls without the cost and disruption of foundation replacement.

Heavy-duty, galvanized earth anchors are embedded in stable, undisturbed soil outside your foundation wall. Each anchor is connected by a steel rod to a wall plate that provides clamping pressure against the inside of the foundation wall. This method also offers the potential to straighten the wall back to its original position.

How Wall Anchor Systems Work

While there are a number of potential causes of cracked and bowing foundation walls, the most common reason is pressure from foundation soils.

When clay soils get wet, they can expand and put tremendous pressure on a wall. When this force exceeds the wall's ability to resist it, the wall begins to fail in different ways. Cracking, bowing and tilting are the most common symptoms of foundation wall failure.

Other factors in foundation wall damage include heavy rains (causing hydrostatic pressure) and exterior slabs such as driveways or porches, that put pressure on the wall by expanding in hot weather (street creep). Large tree roots, soil expansion due to frost, and issues related to poor grading can also cause foundation damage.

One of the problems with foundation soils is that while the earth is continually pressing against the outside of the walls, nothing on the inside is equalizing that pressure. Foundation wall anchors address this problem by "gripping" the inside surface of the wall and countering that pressure.

Foundation wall anchors extend out to the stable, hard-packed soil beyond your home, anchoring themselves there and bracing the foundation wall. This stops inward movement entirely -- and over time, tightening these anchors can even move your foundation walls back to their original position.

Foundation wall anchors have been used successfully to stabilize and straighten foundation walls since the late 1970s. This repair system has an excellent track record in residential and commercial structures. In fact, in 1992, wall anchor systems were identified by a Chief Appraiser for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as the most effective means of stabilizing bowing foundation walls.

When To Use Foundation Wall Anchors

Wall anchors are the most versatile wall repair method because they can be used to stabilize walls with a variety of problems, including bowing walls, tipping walls, and walls that are pushing in at the bottom. Wall anchors are installed independently of a home's floor systems, making them the ideal installation under appropriate conditions.

In order for a wall anchor system to work effectively, several feet of access is needed on the outside of your home. In areas where homes are only a few feet apart, wall anchors are not a valid option. If this is the case in your situation, we will recommend another wall repair option.

Wall Anchor Application Chart

Removal & Replacement

Carbon Fiber Strips

I-Beams

Helical Anchors

Geo-Lock™ Wall Anchors

Installation Usually Completed In One Day

Does Not Have Problems With Leaking

Does Not Rely On Floor System For Support

Stabilizes Walls That Are Bowing In At The Center Of The Wall

Will Keep The Wall From Tipping/Leaning In At The Top Of The Wall

Will Keep The Wall From Sliding In At The Bottom

Limited Disturbance To Lawn & Landscaping

Can Straighten Wall Over Time Without Excavating

Can Be Installed In Areas With Close Property Lines

Can Be Installed When Interior Access Is Limited

Can Easily Avoid Obstructions On Basement Walls Such As Pipes, Wires, And Plumbing Lines

Your Local Foundation Contractors

At Woodford Bros., Inc. we can fix foundation issues related to bowing, buckling basement walls of all types. Our wall anchor systems include a 25-year warranty against manufacturing defects, as well as a performance warranty from us.

If you would like a free, no-obligation, written foundation wall repair quote, we're the contractors for you! Call or e-mail us today to schedule an on-site appointment with one of our specialists!

We're proud to serve Rochester, Binghamton, Syracuse, Utica, and many other parts of New York.

Removal and Replacement Of The Foundation

Total Foundation Replacement involves excavating the dirt around the home to expose the damaged foundation. Anything around the foundation, including gardens, foliage, patios, etc. must also be removed. That foundation is them removed and replaced.

This is an invasive, expensive, time-consuming process that should only be done as a last resort. If the wall is standing, we can almost always repair it.

Carbon Fiber Strips

Carbon fiber is a very high tensile strength material that's almost impossible to stretch. Because it doesn't stretch, it can be 'glued' to concrete walls to keep them from bending or bowing inwards.

Carbon fiber straps have become a fairly common method for reinforcing basement walls. If installed properly, they can effectively hold the center of the wall in place.

Since carbon fiber straps are not attached to anything but the wall itself, they should NOT be used if your basement walls have started to slide in at the bottom or lean in at the top.

I-Beam Wall Braces

Most I-Beam installations begin by standing a beam up against a basement wall. The beam is then connected to the wood floor joists at the top and the concrete floor at the bottom.

If you have rocky soil or there are property line issues, I-Beam systems are a good option for stabilizing bowing, tilting, or inwards-sliding walls. The PowerBrace's patented design takes this one step farther -- with an adjustable design that will also straighten the walls over time.

Helical Wall Anchors

Helical anchors have been used to stabilize foundations and retaining walls for years -- and they've proven to be quite effective. They are designed like a screw and can be mechanically advanced through the soil with heavy equipment.

To install a helical anchor in the wall one of two things must be done: Either the wall must have a large hole cut in it for each anchor, or the outside of the home will need to be excavated at each anchor point to attach the helical pier section to the rod that will advance the anchor into the earth.

Cutting a hole in the wall will often lead to water issues in the future, while excavating around the foundation is labor-intensive and damaging to landscaping.

Geo-Lock™ Wall Anchors

Wall anchors have been used successfully since the late 1970's to stabilize foundation and retaining walls. These systems consist of heavy-duty galvanized steel earth anchors that are embedded into the soil away from the foundation wall. They are connected to steel plates with galvanized anchoring rods.

Once installed, wall anchors will hold walls in their current position without any further adjustment. Wall anchors can be tightened during dry periods, allowing for improvement and straightening of the wall over time.